Staff

Dr. La Vonne Cornell-Swanson Associate Professor Has accepted a two-year interim position as the Director of the Office for Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) for UW System Administration in Madisoncornellj@uwec.edu

Dr. La Vonne Cornell-Swanson joined our faculty in the fall of 2001. She completed her Bachelors degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 1980 and her Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma in 1985. Dr. Cornell-Swanson earned her Ph. D. in Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee in 2001.

Dr. La Vonne Cornell-Swanson arrived with over 13 years of social work practice and administrative experience in the fields of child and family services, including family preservation, medical social work, youth outreach, domestic violence, sexual assault, and alcohol and drug abuse treatment. She is currently the Social Work Faculty Supervisor for the UW- Eau Claire Human Development Center Interdisciplinary and Psychological Services Clinics. Dr. Cornell-Swanson has been certified by the Academy of Certified Social Workers as a Qualified Clinical Social Worker, and maintains her state social work credentials as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker.

Dr. La Vonne Cornell-Swanson’s areas of research include the impact of the insurgent use of psychiatric medications to treat children for ADHD and other psychiatric diagnoses; the sociocultural aspects of Deafness, and the transmission of cultural practices through American Sign Language (ASL). Additional areas of research interest include the use of storytelling practices in ethnic sensitive social work practice, the benefits of creating safe classroom environments for teaching sensitive topics and women's issues in the helping professions.

Dr. Cornell-Swanson's hobbies include spending time outdoors with her family biking and swimming. She also enjoys reading and gardening.